Connector



July 30, 1963 H. PIORUNNECK 3,099,510

CONNECTOR Filed April 25, 1960 Tia. l. O

/ I ulIIIIIIIlIlIlI-l I IN V EN TOR. Nz ayuzwvcc United States Patent 3,099,510 CQNNECTOR Heinz Piorunueck, South Norwalk, C0nn., assiguor to Gom Electric Company, Inc., Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Apr. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 24,337 2 Claims. (Cl. 339-256) This invention relates to a contact of the type utilized in miniature connectors. In such connectors, it is quite common to mount in a plastic body a large number of small contacts, each adapted to engage a series of opposed contacts, all as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate. My invention relates particularly to a socket type of contact having means that yieldingly resist the entrance of a pin contact and the removal of the pin contact. The socket contact of my invention is also required to present rather considerable resistance to distortion as when weight is applied to the pin contact after it has been placed within the socket. This weight operates transversely relatively to the direction of insertion of the pin into the socket, and simulates the type of strain that may be applied.

Not only is it necessary in contacts of this type to present resistance to the removal of a pin from the socket contact, but it is further required that electrical contact be made through means other than that part of the mechanism that presents this resistance to the removal of the pm.

I have conceived a socket construction for a contact that is novel, and is eifective to contribute the several features that are required. Thus, my socket contact presents a solid ring that resists distortion through transverse application of force on a pin within the socket. In addition, my new contact socket presents resistance to the removal and insertion of a pin into the socket, while simultaneously eifecting electrical contact between the pin and the socket through a solid surface, that is undistorted or worked in any manner.

As a feature of my invention, I form a cylindrical socket having a solid complete ring at that end into which a pin contact enters the socket. My new socket contact diurther provides an integral bar that presents yielding detent means for resisting movement of a pin into the socket and out of the socket with the main portion of the socket undisturbed and fully efiective to maintain true and effective contact between the pin and the socket.

As a still further feature of my invention, the bar that presents the resistance to the entry and removal of the pin from the socket is readily formed through a simple slotting of the socket in spaced relation to the complete ring at one end of the socket. Further, as part of the concept of my invention, this bar is so shaped by a simple application of sudden force as to form a non-setting detent that will present yielding resistance to the entry and removal of a pin relatively to the socket.

I have thus outlined rather broadly the more important features of my invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that my contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of my invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception on which my disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of my invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention, in order to prevent the appropriation of my invention by those skilled in the art.

Referring now to the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the socket contact of my invention;

FIG. .2 is a section along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the left hand end of the contact of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is an end view of FIGS. 1 and 2 taken from the right end prior to the shaping of the detent bar of the contact;

FIG. 6 is a section similar to FIG. 2, but showing the shaping of the detent bar;

FIG. 7 is an end view similar to FIG. 5 taken after the shaping of the detent bar.

Referring now more particularly to (the drawings, reference numeral 10 indicates a contact of the type used in the art but incorporating the contributions of my invention. This contact is approximately in length and its greatest overall diameter is less than A A woven electric wire is adapted to be inserted, and generally soldered in the bore .11 formed at one end of the contact, the other end of the contact having a bore or socket 12 into which a pin contact is adapted to be inserted. Usually there are a considerable number of socket contacts of this type mounted within a small plastic body, all as those skill-ed in the art will fully appreciate.

The right hand end of the contact 10 is maintained in the form of a solid continuous ring 13 having a cam surface 14- for aiding the entry of the pin contact. This solid and continuous ring 13 is also adapted to resist distortion of the contact as when a force is applied to the socket contact through an inserted pin contact in the direction of the arrow 15 in FIG. 2. I have found that the solid ring is very effective. It is emphasized that the solid ring is made possible only because I obtain my detent mechanism in a novel manner as set forth below.

In order to form the detent bar to which I have already alluded, I slot the cylindrical surface of the bore 12 at 16 and 17, the slots 16 and '17 defining therebetween a solid bar 18. The section of the bar 18 is well shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 5 the spacing of the two slots 16 and 17 is well illustrated as is also the bar 18.

In order to shape the bar 18 so that it may perform its function properly, I apply impact to one end thereof, as at the point 19, thereby bending the bar 18 as is fully illustrated in FIG. 6. This bending of the bar 18 is also well illustrated in FIG. 7 where the numeral 19 again shows the maximum bend. It will be noted that the curve of greatest bending is near one end of the bar 18 because of the application of the bending force. The bar will not bend symmetrically but rather will bend assymmetrically. Because of the forming of the curve or bend in the bar as shown, the bar will not take a permanent set as readily as when it is bent symmetrically. This was determined by taking a group of contacts made exactly alike, and bending some of the bars 18 of the contacts symmetrically and some asymmetrically. Then, by inserting pins of the exact same size and material into the socket bore 12, it was found that the contacts with the asymmetrical bars were far superior to those with symmetrical bars. This is a most valuable feature of my invention since the forming of a bend centrally of the bar leads to setting of the bar and a considerable lessening of the effectiveness of my invention.

It will also be quite well seen both from sections of FIGS. 6 and 7 that the bar \18- occupies relatively little room :on the circumference of the bore of socket bore 12, and that therefore there will be considerable surface within the socket bore 12 for maintaining solid contact between a pin contact and contact 10 as the pin contact moves. In other words, electrical contact may be established over a relatively larger area rather than through the relatively narrow bar 18.

I believe that those skilled in the art will now fully appreciate the importance of my invention.

I new claim:

1. An integral solid metal socket contact having a complete integral solid ring- 'definingthat end thereof into which -a pin contact enters a cylindrical bore of said socket contact, the other end of said. bore terminating in a completely solid cylindrical metal structure, a pair of relatively'long". slots'formed in the outer solid wall of said contact defining said bore, and extending through said wallito. said cylindrical hore so as towleave'a bar-like piece of metal as apart of the surface of said bore integral at its ends with the metal forming said socket contact and adapted to be contacted by a pin contact entering said bore, and said bar being deformed inwardly of said bore adjacent one end thereof, said deformation being such as to present a non-symmetrical conformation that 'will not take a set as readily as were the" said bar to be bent symmetrically while yieldingly resisting more effectively thanwwere said bar bent symmetrically, the entry' and removal of a pin from said socket.

2. An: integral solid metal socket contact having a central solid portion, a bored. integral sleevealike portion extending from each side of said central solid portion, one of said sleeve like portions formingthe socket ofsaid socket contact and terminatingfin' acomplete solid integral ring defining the outer end thereof and through which a pin contact enters the cylindrical bore of said socket, a pair of relatively long slots formed closely to one another in the outer solid wall of said sleeve-like portion and extending through said Wall to said cylindrical bore so as to leave a narrow bar-like piece of metal as a part of the surface of said bore integral at each end with the surface of the bore and adapted to be contacted by a pin contact entering said bore, and said bar' being deformed asymmetrically of its length inwardly of said bore to present yielding resistance to the sliding of said pin into and out of said bore more effectively than were the same 'bar bent symmetrically of its length.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,322,947 Litwin et a1. June 29, 1943 2,325,691 Litwinet al Aug. 3, 1943- 2,563,761 Uline Aug. 7, 1951 2,711,524 Beaver June 21, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,226,444 France Feb. 2 9, 1960 336,612 Great Britain Oct. 16, 1930 138,117 Switzerland Apr. 16, 1930 

1. AN INTEGRAL SOLID METAL SOCKET CONTACT HAVING A COMPLETE INTEGRAL SOLID RING DEFINING THAT END THEREOF INTO WHICH A PIN CONTACT ENTERS A CYLINDRICAL BORE OF SAID SOCKET CONTACT, THE OTHER END OF SAID BORE TERMINATING IN A COMPLETELY SOLID CYLINDRICAL METAL STRUCTURE, A PAIR OF RELATIVELY LONG SLOTS FORMED IN THE OUTER SOLID WALL OF SAID CONTACT DEFINING SAID BORE, AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID WALL TO SAID CYLINDRICAL BORE SO AS TO LEAVE A BAR-LIKE PIECE OF METAL AS A PART OF THE SURFACE OF SAID BORE INTEGRAL AT ITS ENDS WITH THE METAL FORMING SAID SOCKET CONTACT AND ADAPTED TO BE CONTACTED BY A PIN CONTACT ENTERING SAID BORE, AND SAID BAR BEING DEFORMED INWARDLY OF SAID BORE ADJACENT ONE END THEREOF, SAID DEFORMATION BEING SUCH AS TO PRESENT A NON-SYMMETRICAL CONFORMATION THAT WILL NOT TAKE A SET AS READILY AS WERE THE SAID BAR TO BE BENT SYMMETRICALLY WHILE YIELDINGLY RESISTING MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN WERE SAID BAR BENT SYMMETRICALLY, THE ENTRY AND REMOVAL OF A PIN FROM SAID SOCKET. 